Room on the mainland, since I have to spend the night to catch my commercial flight to HNL: $172

Total Cost: $3136 (neglects a few other expenses, such as feeding me at my current location and the cost of the contract airline that will take me to the mainland...I will ignore the cost of the contract airline, as it has already been paid. Had it not been paid, savings would've been even higher.)

Expedia.com's cost for an airline ticket directly from my current location to HNL on Oct 27: $804

Had they allowed me to buy the Expedia ticket, I could've saved the man at least $2332.

There's no guarantee that I'll make it to the contract flight. Bureaucracy will move even slower to buy me a commercial ticket. In that event, waste will grow by $358/day.

Yes, there are other considerations. However, none pass the common sense test.